Her
by Writer's Lullaby
Summary: Everyone knew being with her was not easy. She was always so unpredictable. She rarely got annoyed but when she did, it was always because of the weirdest things. But he could not bring himself to care because he loved her nonetheless. A spin-off from One Night Wrong. A RukaRu fic.
1. Why She's Mad

So I made the RukaRu ffiction! Hahahahahaha. This is a spin-off from _One Night Wrong_ for Ruka and Hotaru. Basically what happens in the story is based on what I wrote there. And if you're a reader from _One Night Wrong_ , I apologise if you're wondering why I published this instead of updating a new chapter for ONW. I couldn't resist, these scenes had been playing in my mind again and again, urging me to write them. So enjoy! My first try for the RukaRu pair. (P.S. They could be a little bit OOC here) There's fluff by the end of this. :D  
 _(This chapter is set between ch5 and ch6/7 of **ONW** )_  
 **  
**Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice, Kiroro's Mirai e _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 2700**

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **Her by Writer's Lullaby**

Everyone knew being with her was not easy. She was always so unpredictable. She rarely got annoyed but when she did, it was always because of the weirdest things. But he could not bring himself to care because he loved her nonetheless. A spin-off from _One Night Wrong_.

 **Issue #1 : Why She's Mad**

The ride in the car was silent. The radio was not even switched on in the car and the tension was high to the two sitting at the front. It was, however, not noticeable to the dark brown-haired kid in her arms.

Saki was sulking but she could not figure out the reason behind it because he refused to tell her anything. If anything, he only shook his head while burying his head into her chest; his cute little hands tugging onto her coat. The image of Saki apologising to her was still fresh in her memory making her wonder. Her precious son was never this upset, he always acted the cool smart person he could as a kid. And it had always managed to melt her heart no matter how tired she was from her work.

She rubbed his head once again softly as she gave him a kiss on the head. The affection however only made him bury himself more into her body. Mikan sighed but an idea popped into her mind, so she softly pulled him closer to her, making him look up to her with a sad face.

" _Ne_ , Ruka-pyon, Hotaru-chan, would you mind if I hum a song to Saki-kun?"

"It's okay, Mikan," came Hotaru's monotonous voice which sounded a little bit tired.

Meanwhile the blonde driving replied in an easy tone, "Go on, we wouldn't mind."

Muttering a small thanks, Mikan looked at the child's face in her arms smiling sweetly. After mouthing ' _suki_ ', she began singing in a low soft voice. And the car was suddenly filled with warmness as her voice lulled them a sweet melody when she began singing " _Mirai e"_ , her rock-a-bye song for Saki when he was small.

Saki who was tensing his muscles a few minutes ago began relaxing as he remained eye contact with his mother. Mikan was softly singing to him while making a slow pattern on his back. The child sighed in content when Mikan entered the second verse.

 _"My mother showed me_  
 _So much tenderness_  
 _Telling me again and again, to walk on with love_  
 _I was too young then to understand what she meant_  
 _But she still took my hand_  
 _And walked together with me"_

On the other hand, the two couple at the front also began losing their tension hearing the gentle voice; it was as if the melody itself was a prayer to calm every raging souls.

Hotaru looked out to the view outside of the car, witnessing the brilliant lights in the metropolitan city and the people still moving about. She could not bring herself to look at the guy sitting not too far beside her even though she noticed his earlier intentions to ask her about something. Instead, she let herself lost in thoughts from her best friend's melodious singing voice.

As his hand was on the steering wheel, Ruka found himself giving glances to the three passengers in the car although most were directed to the black-haired beauty beside him. He could not forget what the smart little Saki had just spilt to him and he needed his girlfriend to confirm it for him. However, he also knew that even if asked nicely, she would not relent the answers he wanted easily. More so when she had been acting cold to him for a few days already. ' _Just what did I do?_ '

And all the way to Mikan's small flat, every of them were busy with their own thoughts. Neither spoke a word, each just content to listen to her singing.

 _"My dream always seems_  
 _So far away in the sky_  
 _I'm afraid I'll never reach it, but I'll keep chasing it_  
 _Since this is my story, I don't want to give up_  
 _You held my hand when I was scared_  
 _And walked together with me_

 _At times I hated that tenderness_  
 _And let go, not listening to my mom_

 _Look, do you see what's at your feet?_  
 _This is the road you walk on_  
 _Look, do you see what's up ahead?_  
 _That is your future_

 _Turn to the future_  
 _And let's walk there one step at a time"_

* * *

They finally arrived at their condominium after dropping Mikan and Saki off. At the moment, both Hotaru and Ruka had just entered the door with the former acting oblivious towards the latter.

Ruka watched the Hotaru as she walked to their shared room, her hair still cascading temptingly on her back. " _Hotaru_ ," he called to her yet earning no response from her. "Aren't you gonna talk to me?" He stood stationary in the living room, still waiting for her to turn around to him but the effort was to no avail as the woman continued taking her little steps. His patience was rising slowly.

 _"Imai Hotaru!"_ It worked. She stopped in her steps. But she did not turn around to him. "Look at me." And the woman did as asked, slowly turning her body around and her amethyst eyes instantly fixed to his blue grey eyes. The expression on her face was a zero nothing. "Don't you think it's about time you tell me who Saki's father is?"

Hotaru gave him a mocking expression, " _Baka_. I've told you before that I don't know, right? Mikan never told me." She looked bored at the question.

"Don't lie."

"Why would I, it doesn't benefit me."

"Saki told me about _it_." For the slightest moment, Ruka could see her eyes sharpened but it was immediately concealed. This time however, she did not reply him, choosing only to stare at him. "Hotaru, if it's true, we need to do something about — "

Her amethyst eyes fired up as if angry at his suggestion and she cut him off, "I don't want to talk about this."

"But — "

 _"Nogi, I said I don't want to talk about it."_

She turned around and finally entered their room. Ruka sighed in disappointment, he knew he needed to stop bugging her about it if she stopped addressing him with his given name. His phone pinged, alerting him of a new message from his brother.

* * *

After exchanging a few messages with his brother, Tsubasa; Ruka finally entered the room to it being empty. No figure of his girlfriend in the room at all. Ruka looked around and saw the lights in the bathroom being switched on. He decided to wash himself again for the second time that night after being out in the classy bar. The surrounding was nice but he still felt the need to be clean again plus he needed to talk to Hotaru about her being cold to him.

Stripping down to his shorts, he entered the bathroom to Hotaru standing in front of the mirror, removing her makeup; seemingly almost done. On the edge of the bathroom were her clothes and sure enough she was only in her bra and the skimpy jeans she wore earlier. Ruka stepped to her and stood stationary behind her as he watched her remove her makeup. He was slightly disappointed to see her hair back in a bun as he rarely got to see the silky hair being let free.

"Hotaru, are you still mad at me?" The question was met with silence as she focused on the job on hand. Ruka sighed and took two steps forward, nearing her. " _Hotaru_?" Hotaru paused her working hands and looked at him through his reflection on the mirror. "Well?" He asked, still not wanting to give up. His arms enclosing her on either side which surprisingly she did not resist.

She released a small breath, "No, Ruka, I'm not mad any more. But please, I don't want to talk about it." After that, she continued removing the makeup on her face.

Ruka smiled genuinely at the answer. "Thank you and alright, but one day, we'll talk about it — _eventually_ ," he said softly as he gave a small peck on her bare shoulder which raised barely-seen red at her neck. It was what made him feel at ease with her. Hotaru was a cool, chilled woman. She rarely got mad but whenever she did, she calmed down fast enough seeming to think more rationally. She was unlike other woman.

Not long after, Ruka finally stepped in, making contact between their bodies. He could not resist himself to let his hand wander as they made little caresses down to her hips. When his left hand reached the top of the skimpy denim jeans, Ruka looked at his girlfriend's face on the mirror.

"I thought you already changed to a skirt?"

Hotaru who was done removing her makeup washed her hands in the sink. "We wore it over the jeans. Too lazy to remove 'em."

He nodded at the answer but his forehead wrinkled at an unpleasant memory not long after that.

"What's wrong?" she asked him in her soft monotonous voice.

Ruka hugged Hotaru hearing her question, giving her left cheek a soft kiss. "I was so jealous back then." They made another eye contact on the mirror as if their eyes were having another deep conversation on their own. "You know how I tell you before this that you're always beautiful in my eyes? Well just now, I felt like I saw the sexiest angel in my life. You were so gorgeous and you still are." A slight red coloured Hotaru's face. "I was elated. And then you started dancing. Goddamn, I was lured, _Hotaru_." He whispered her name to her ears making her shut her eyes at the sensation. "But then, the crowds began cheering and I realised, I wasn't the only one watching. I was — _Fuck_!" Ruka's breathing slightly increased, and Hotaru's chest was already rising up and down.

"You're cursing, Ruka."

Ruka shook his head as if disappointed on himself, agreeing to Hotaru's statement. "I know but — I can't help it. Never in my life have I wanted to punch someone so bad. And not just one person, but everyone watching." His hug on her tightened as his thumbs caressed her naked skin lazily. "Thank goodness Saki called my name or I might've lost it."

 _"Pfft. Baka."_

"Why'd you do that in the first place? I mean sure you wanted to help Mikan but — "

Ruka realised Hotaru's calm face had changed. She was now looking at him mockingly.

"What?" he asked.

Her look at him turned nasty.

Ruka sighed still clueless as ever. "I honestly don't know Hotaru. Do tell me what I've done wrong, you've been hot and cold to me for days now." He placed his chin on her nape as if it was the most natural thing for him to do.

Hotaru did not resist the affection but her eyes stayed nasty at him and she finally opened her mouth again to talk; sounding accusing yet still with the usual bleakness, " _You took my food._ " She proceeded to glare at him after her statement.

He widened his eyes at her and slowly gave a small smile. ' _He's correct, she's mad about food._ '

"Baka. It's nothing to smile about." He could not help it, he was now grinning. " _Ruka_." His name was pronounced vehemently.

"Just which food are you talking about?" His question only worsened the condition because she widened her eyes in disbelief at him. She looked aghast in her own unique way. ' _I know food is serious business to her but she's so—cute?'_

Unclasping herself from his hold she turned around and looked at him seriously in the eyes. She managed to cross her arms in the very limited space thanks to Ruka being so close. "My Snickers bars! You took away all of them, how dare you!"

He was confused, "But Hotaru, I thought you do not like chocolate?"

Rolling her eyes at the question, she then answered him, "Yes, but I actually like some of them. And Snickers turned out to be one."

"Well I didn't know, okay?" he answered while exhaling out; a teasing smile still tugging on his lips.

"That's because you never asked," she replied back with an attitude. Her next words however sounded more betrayed than before, "And to make things worse, you actually brought them to work and _offered some to my brother!_ " Her eyes were definitely lit with anger.

Ruka could not help it any more, he barked out a laugh that sounded beautiful in typical to Nogi Ruka's manual.

" _It's not funny,_ " her words pressed.

Coughing in attempts to hold in his laughter, he looked at her with a big teasing smile. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"You're not," she said yet again accusingly, her eyes slitting. "How could you give my food to that _pig_? That old geezer that always took food from me when I was small? It's just not done, Ruka." Her face turned sour probably in distaste remembering the childhood she mentioned of where her brother, Imai Subaru confiscated her food.

"I'm sorry but how did you find out? I could be eating them myself, you know."

"Because he texted me a picture of the Snickers bar half eaten!" her voice raised a bit seemingly scandalised about it. "That idiot knows I like them!"

"Mm hmm," he let her rant, content to look at her raging face. It was only familiar on her whenever she was mad about food. And it never failed to charm him.

"He was rubbing it off on me. He knew I was going to be angry." She then looked at him accusingly, "This is all your fault, if only you did not — " And her words were cut off mid-sentence.

Ruka crashed his lips to her, taking her by surprise. It took a few seconds before she finally responded. Kissing him just as much he was. Their hearts' pace were increasing, both from the lack of air and interlocking their lips. His hand was buried on the back of her head, caressing the soft beautiful black locks; the other was on her back, going up and down her spine getting dangerously near to the rim of the slightly low cut jeans. On the other hand, Hotaru had both of her hands buried in his thick blonde hair.

A moments passed and Ruka withdrew, his eyes fixed to her shut eyes. When they finally opened, her amethyst eyes seemed hazy and dimmed. Both of their faces were flushed with red. He could not help it and leaned for a few more pecks. Then, he whispered slowly to her, " _I'm sorry._ " It was only answered with her blinking eyes. "I'll buy you more later. A handful of them." This time she nodded at his statement and she leaned in, making contact between their foreheads. "And I won't give Subaru-san any of them."

"That goes without saying."

"Do you want any other brands?"

Her face turned serious as she thought of the answer. "Reese's peanut buttercups."

"Definitely. Any other more?"

"That'll do for now."

"Okay," and he leaned in for another sweet kiss to which she accepted gladly.

When the kiss ended, they hugged a few minutes before Hotaru spoke up, "Let's take a bath — _together_."

His eyes widened and he finally answered with a mutter, "I'd be glad to."

* * *

Ruka woke up from his sleep in the middle of the night. Upon opening his eyes, he was met with a beautiful calm sleeping face. He gave a small smile and ended up perusing her details slowly. It was never boring to him even if he had done it a lot of times before.

Deep in his thoughts, her eyes suddenly slowly opened; perhaps able to feel someone staring. They looked at each other for the longest time before she finally leaned in and kissed him. Ruka was only glad to participate.

There was nothing rushed about it; just a sweet lingering kiss. And they took time, as if exploring each other for the first time.

After a good few minutes had passed, they finally parted. Both taking time to breathe to normal. Hotaru reached out and hugged him from under the comforter, tucking her head to his chest. And Ruka returned the touch.

"Sleep, Nogi. You're buying me chocolate later," she said in her groggy sleepy voice.

He smiled at the statement then kissed her softly on her forehead. " _Good night, beauty._ "

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- Kiroro's Mirai e : a 1998 Japanese song. My first favourite Japanese song ever since I was a little kid. It never dies with time still makes me me feel sentimental. Anw, Mikan actually sang it in Japanese, I only wrote the translation to make you understand.  
\- I tagged this as complete but I might update a few more chapters if I feel I should, based on _One Night Wrong_. It's not definite but _definitely_ possible.  
\- The genre tags and the synopsis _(and maybe the title)_ might also change over time if I update chapters.

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 9:20 am, 04/08/17 (GMT+8)  
 **Finished ;** 7:28 pm, 05/08/17  
 **Updated ;** 6:35 pm, 07/08/17

Leave a review if you liked this. :)


	2. Food Makes Her Happy

Hi! I'm back for second chapter of **_Her_**. It took me a really long time to finish this. I apologise to two people I might've promised speedy update within 24 hours the other day. xD (You know who you are, if you're reading this) Aside of being busy, I've also been sidetracked with YouTube. To any Korean culture fans, you might want to check the channel of _The World of Dave_! He makes real dope videos. *^* Anw, enjoy! An update. (Don't worry, I'll get started with writing ONW's ch9 asap. :D)  
 _(This chapter is set after ch8 of **ONW** )_  
 **  
**Be nice, people. I welcome _honest, constructive criticism_ and _any mention of mistake is highly appreciated_. _No flame, please.  
I do not own Gakuen Alice _or _any familiar words/titles mentioned in the story.  
_ **Words approx. ; 2900** (Overall approx.; 5800)

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

* * *

 **Her by Writer's Lullaby**

Everyone knew being with her was not easy. She was always so unpredictable. She rarely got annoyed but when she did, it was always because of the weirdest things. But he could not bring himself to care because he loved her nonetheless. A RukaRu spin-off from _One Night Wrong_.

 **Issue #2 : Food Makes Her Happy**

Ruka was in the process of shaving his face. He had finished taking his bath just a few minutes ago. Although Ruka barely had facial hair growing on his face, he still made the effort to shave at least once every two or three days. It was simply a ritual that he never minded getting used to. And today was one of those days where he felt he needed to shave. When he saw his reflection on the mirror upon arriving home, he immediately decided to shave after bathing that day.

As he concentrated to shave with care, he heard the sound of the door being opened and shut. The sound was accompanied with jiggling noise from keys.

He gave a simple smile to himself on the mirror, ' _Hotaru is home_.'

He was forever excited to meet the most beautiful face ever known to him. Always looking forward to seeing her face coming home from work, especially when the day was long like today. There were many customers coming to the veterinary. Weekends had always been busy for him because people usually felt inclined to bring their pets to meet the vet when they were free during weekend.

He also had his girlfriend's brother to thank for.

Imai Subaru had came to him not long after he went exclusive with Hotaru. The charismatic guy was a famous uprising surgeon in the city and he was going to inherit the family's hospital. Although the hospital was not as big as other local hospitals in the big city; they were still known to be one with good services with reasonable medical fee.

Subaru had came to him proposing a plan; he wanted Ruka to join him as soon as he inherited the hospital. He had promised to provide a small wing just for Ruka to practice his veterinary medicine. Ruka was first sceptical to accept the offer but after discussing it with his family, girlfriend and bestfriend; he had finally agreed. He had never once regret the decision he made ever since then. Of course the journey went a little rocky for the first few months, but with the support from the people around him, he survived the phase.

Today, with the department under his care; they had hired more vets and also generating income just like the others. It gladdened Ruka that people were not only concern with their own well-being but also of their pets. As someone who really loved animals, he could not ask for more.

Ruka finally finished shaving and did a quick wash on his face. After drying his face with a small towel, he finally exited the bathroom wearing only a piece of towel on his waist. However, there was no sight of Hotaru in their bedroom, it was as empty as when he went in for a bathe.

With the small towel currently on his head drying his wet blonde hair, he stepped towards the small loveseat sofa in light aqua. It matched with the room's theme. Hotaru and him had decorated their bedroom in soft blue and violet when they first moved in. It was more and homey-looking comfortable than contemporary. Draped on the sofa was the comfy cargo shorts he had placed there earlier.

He wore said clothing article and exited the room to track his girlfriend.

* * *

Ruka continued his unhurried walk in the apartment when he could not find Hotaru in the living room. He did, however, see the extra keys hung on the wall. They were Hotaru's and definitely were not there earlier.

He finally spotted her at the closed garden patio at one the balconies. They had remodelled the design before moving in to better suit his pet, Usa's needs. Unlike the other balconies on the apartment building, they had barred theirs with quality wood. It accommodated the rabbit really well and Hotaru was the one who had came up with the plan.

His eyes laid on her. She seemed to be occupied as she sat gingerly on the garden. Not far in front of her was Usa, gingerly eating asparagus as her treat.

Before they moved in together, Ruka was a bit worried on how to keep Usa. Hotaru never really showed any interest to his pet or animals. She just accepted and understood the fact that he was a vet and that he cared a lot for animals. Although she always supported him through, she never acted curious. It led him to think that she did not really have strong feelings for animals. So, it was a rather nice surprise for him when she actually got along really well with his pet, and adored Usa as much as he did. Sometimes, she would even have a one-sided conversation with the cute Usa. And he knew all of that from Saki, who acted as his consultant whenever he was not home.

Hotaru let out a sudden irritated sigh.

Ruka quirked a brow and voiced out, "Is anything wrong?"

If she was surprised by his appearance, Hotaru did not show it. She just stood up and turned around to him. Her tired eyes slowly warmed at the sight of him. He shot a charming smile at her when she stepped closer to him. He opened his arms wide and she crashed herself into his arms, tucking her head to the crook of his neck. They fit just perfectly.

"You just took a bath."

"Mm hmm."

"And you shaved."

His right hand which was softly caressing her back to comfort her stopped midway pattern. And he softly murmured, "How can you tell?"

She tilted her face directly to his neck. And he could feel her sniffling him in; pleasure rushing in. "I can smell you." If he did not know her better, he would think she was being her usual uninterested self. But his sharp senses which had became better attuned to her could notice the slight difference. She really _liked_ the smell. She gave a light peck on his neck. "I should return you the sentiment."

"What do you mean?"

Her voice sounded bored, "Well it's not really a sentiment, more like a favour?"

"Huh?"

And she leaned her face down, giving his face a quick glance. Her eyes fluttered shut and softly kissed his collarbone. Ruka sucked his breath in realisation of what she was about to do. He reached out to her shoulder to push her back, intending to resist but alas, it was too late. She had already began nipping down his collarbone, proceeding next to sweetly suckle on the skin.

His eyes dimmed and blood rushed to his head, making him slightly dizzy. His hand was buried in her hair making them a mess. And suddenly she stopped and smirked at him mischievously with a satisfying glint in her eyes. It took him a few seconds before he finally crashed his lips to her.

* * *

He looked at his reflection on the mirror, sighing at the sight of the small bruise on his collarbone. At the back was Hotaru walking back and forth in the room getting dressed after her bath. Realising she was being stared, she paused and looked at him, her mouth pulling a small half snicker.

With his finger thumbing the mark, he shook his head. "Why'd you do _this_?"

She shrugged, her face turning sour. "The stupid boys kept bugging me about it at the lab." She nodded briefly at his questioning glance. "It seems like Hyuuga isn't _the_ only one who noticed." In her hands was her Mac. "And again, those boys are all stupidheads. Well, except for Hayami, _maybe_." She paused briefly as if pondering her words then shook her head in decision. "He's better than the others but sometimes he can be as stupid. Definitely _more_ reliable though."

Ruka gave a small smile, understanding her need to rant. And then he sighed again, "But it's not so obvious on you?" She looked away, acting uninterested at his spoken thoughts. "Everyone can see this," his hand traced the purple on his collarbone. "And they'll _definitely_ be asking."

Hotaru looked back at him blankly, annoyance clear on her body posture. She was crossing her arms, "Let them ask, I saw from a lot of the tape records, most of your clients are females." Her voice pressed at the last word, obviously chagrined. "And their pets don't look unhealthy but instead scared?!" She looked away, annoyed.

A smile formed on his face and Ruka could feel his heart warming hearing her. He turned around and walked towards her; no longer bothered with the hickey. "Okay, I'll make sure to flash this to everyone if that'll make you happier."

"Good and yes," she answered giving a curt nod.

"Anything else I should know?" he asked while pulling Hotaru's hands softly to the bed. "What was the important matter at the lab you mentioned earlier?" And they lied down together as he asked the question. Neither looking at each others' face but their eyes fixed to the ceiling above. She had gingerly placed her Mac on the bed beside her head.

Sounds of frustrations escaped her.

"What's wrong?" His hold on her hand tightened, softly massaging her to calm her nerves.

"Those idiots were playing around with _Tor_."

Worry formed in his head at the mention of the familiar name. "Okay, so anything went wrong?"

She released her breath slowly calming herself from erupting before she recounted the tales. "Well, to put it simply, he played around with it and someone managed to trace us and broke into our data. It was harmless prank but the dude didn't know they are confidential data."

"Okay, that sounds dangerous."

"I know," she sighed.

He began making a circular pattern on her palm using his forefinger. "I trust everything is okay now?"

"Of course," she answered almost with a sass. Then she added, "But I told him I'm deducting fifteen percent of his pay for three months."

He chuckled at her typical demeanour. "Isn't that like a lot?"

"Yes but I don't care. It's his fault. It is only right of me to do so."

"I see."

"Yes, we still need to clean the web through, since there are still few leaked. I told everyone to do the job." She sighed at her own explanation. Perhaps mildly annoyed to do work on the weekend. She rolled to him and rested her face on his shoulder. "I'm recharging. You smell so nice." She sighed again but this time in content.

He leaned down and kissed her head. "So do you, _beauty_."

* * *

Ruka woke up to the low sound of a music playing.

Last night, he had waited for Hotaru to finish her work beside him on the bed. The whole time as she tapped away on her laptop, he was also awake beside her doing some reading. The night was silent and he did not bother making noise, trying to let her focus on her work. She was so engrossed that she never mentioned of food at him which was really rare. Unless she was highly focused on her work and last night was one of them.

When she was finally done, it was already so late and past midnight. After shutting down her laptop and putting it away on the bedside table, she drank a glass of water. Only after then did she let herself sleep. Ruka immediately spooned her after switching off the lights; the switches just above the the bedhead. He had softly patted her until they both fell asleep in a deep slumber.

In his barely awake state, he moved his body to face her.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" she asked him softly, still busy tapping on the laptop.

He could still hear the low music playing. He answered groggily, "No. But what are you doing?" Trying to keep his eyes opened, he peered at the screen but miserably failed. Giving up, he burrowed his head on her thighs. "What time is it right now? I thought you finished the work last night."

Hotaru affectionately ruffled his blonde hair. "It's almost 6 am. And yes we did. This one's not work-related, I'm making money." Her voice sounded happy and content.

"I thought you gave that up? We make pretty decent living now, don't we?" he asked curiously, his mind finally began to clear up.

She shook her head although knowing well he would not be able to see. "It's not for me, it's for Mikan."

That certainly grabbed his attention. " _Mikan_?" he asked to confirm as he moved his head to the pillow away from her. "You're not scheming anything, aren't you?"

"Pfft. I'm her bestfriend, why would I scheme her?" she answered, giving him a side mocking glance. "Look at this."

And he did as she told him to find a recording of Friday night. His eyes widened in surprise, "What is this for? You're editing them."

"I told you, I'm making _money_ ," she stated obviously.

He quirked a brow in wonder, "Okay, if you say so." He shut his eyes only top open them back when he remembered something. "I forgot to ask. So who sent Mikan and Saki home last night?" He placed his hands on the back of his head as he gazed on her back. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it last night because we were really super busy. A lot of people came."

"I know. It's Saturday night after all."

"Yeah, so Mikan and Saki?"

Silence met his question.

 _"Well?"_

"Hyuuga sent them home."

Once again, silence ensued in the room. Ruka was highly surprised he could not form a speech. " _Hyuuga_? Which Hyuuga?"

Hotaru shrugged, "The only Hyuuga I call as Hyuuga would be _Hyuuga,_ your bestfriend."

He sucked in his breath while pondering her statement. "So _Natsume_ sent them home? Did you blackmail him something or did Kaoru-san ask him to?"

She shook her head. Her face still glued to the laptop's screen; busy editing the videos. "No, he volunteered himself." The sound of the keyboard being tapped could be easily heard amidst the sound of a music playing. "Hyuuga even provided his arguments on why he should send her home instead of me or her taking a taxi."

Wonder and amazement filled him. "Okay. So how did she react?"

Hotaru finally turned around and looked at Ruka on his face blatantly. "Before she could protest, he already cut her off." They looked at each other's eyes, a silent communication between them both. "And I guess she didn't wanna argue with him cause she easily gave in." She massaged her nape softly. After that, she rearranged the messy bun that she made out of her head. "Hyuuga was coolly insistent. And I guess I have to thank him for it."

Ruka ran both of his hands on his hair as he released his breath; blinked his eyes a few times at her. "Did Saki say anything?"

"No. He looked really sleepy and tired last night."

He nodded understandingly. "So Saki _really_ knows?"

She looked away from him hesitantly. "I'm not sure if he's making it up. But kids don't lie, you know?" Ruka nodded, agreeing to her words. "He said Mikan tells him about _him_ from time to time. Especially when he made it to the news the other day. And it was purely accident he talked about it with me. He's as smart as he _is_ , the kid basically begged me not to tell Mikan he accidentally spilt the beans to me. She probably told him not to tell anyone about _it_."

"So that was why because it was also the same case with us the other night," he paused, reminiscing the night at Mikan's workplace the other day. "I just don't remember them meeting each other," he then added.

Hotaru sighed sounding tired herself. "I know, she never told me. She still won't tell why she got fired three years ago."

He whispered to himself, "Just _what_ happened three years ago?"

* * *

Ruka was once again reading on the bed. It was around eight in the Sunday morning and he had the day off. He decided he deserved being lazy and did not feel like going away from bed yet. Hence, after washing his face and brushing his teeth earlier with Hotaru, he went back to bed getting himself comfy. Hotaru's spot next to him was empty. Unlike him, she had went out of the room to get something to eat perhaps hungry from being up so early. And she had been using her energy a lot since last night; tracing the leaked data and waking up early this morning to edit the videos. She pushed herself a lot from time to time.

In the midst of his read, the bedroom's door opened and a nice smell of food wafted in.

Hotaru walked in with a tray in her hand. She looked genuinely happy as she placed the tray on the small table at the corner of the room. It was a mini table perfect being turned into a kotatsu during cold weather especially the winter. She turned around and looked at him enquiringly, "Wake up, lazybum. It's breakfast time."

He smiled and rose from the bed. He stretched lazily and walked towards her. In a unique Hotaru way, he could see that she was beaming happily at him. When he reached her, she gave light kisses at both sides of his cheeks.

"Thank you. You bought my chocolates and favourite crab cakes brand."

Ease filled and he lightly returned a soft kiss on her nose. "I hope you like them?" He looked into her eyes with warmth.

 _"I do."_

 **-end of chapter-**

* * *

This section exists solely for explanation and credits.

\- **_Tor_ **is a browser software to do some very incognito online activities. Some might be more familiar with the term of dark/deep web. I read abt this a long time ago and thought it'd be interesting to insert it to the story. :)  
\- I'm well aware the two characters here might be ooc. (Just like I mentioned in the earlier chapter) Forgive me, if you found it annoying. If some of my facts are wrong here, I'd be glad if any of you would correct me. :)

* * *

 **#writer`s_l^lla8y#**

 **Created ;** 10:57 pm, 16/08/17  
 **Finished ;** 3:49 pm, 21/08/17

A RukaRu fic rarely gets a lot of reviews but you'd make my days if you leave reviews after reading this. xD


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